Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 868 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $11,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 33,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,048,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 43,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,074,000 after purchasing an additional 5,380 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 3,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 7,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ITW. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $279.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Illinois Tool Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.10.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

ITW opened at $256.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $257.95 and its 200-day moving average is $260.47. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 52-week low of $232.77 and a 52-week high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.04. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 95.39%. Analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael M. Larsen sold 41,472 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $11,249,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,698,667.50. The trade was a 45.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher A. O’herlihy sold 48,453 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.36, for a total transaction of $13,293,565.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,120,802.68. This trade represents a 46.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 159,925 shares of company stock worth $42,973,845. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Illinois Tool Works Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.